Encounters
by Hikagi
Summary: Collection of crossover shots. #5: Sometimes our little whims end up causing more disaster than we might have foreseen. It is a shame, then, that memory erasers are not as readily available as we would like.
1. One of Those Days

Notice: This little shot here was thrown together during a sugar-high moment caused from too much candy, caffeine and lack of sleep. The authoress hopes that you will enjoy reading it as much as she did writing it.

Summary: Just by chance, it was going to be one of _those_ days. The kind of day that didn't seem quite so normal, but there was nothing he could really point his finger on. That is, until something _big_ attacked him.

Warning: Slight AU - some characters have powers that are not mentioned in canon. Slight spoilers for Soul Society arc in Bleach.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. It belongs to Kubo Tite. I also don't own anything that might show up in the future, so the disclaimer applies to future chapters since I am assuming that anyone who reads the other chapters would have to scroll through this one first.

* * *

_Just by chance. On a whim. By a stroke of luck._

_A strange, unforeseen encounter may bring two worlds together like no one else might have ever suspected.  
_

**Encounters**

"One of _Those_ Days"

By Hikagi

* * *

Biting back a curse that was about to slip from his tongue, Kinomoto Touya scrambled to get away from the monstrosity that was standing before him. Towering slightly over ten feet, it looked very crude with its massive body and sluggish behavior. Strange yellow eyes scanned the environment that surrounded the now empty high school as the student tried to escape the _thing_ that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"_Tanoshii, tanoshii! It's so much more fun when your prey is running from you!"_

Never mind the fact that he could actually see '_Them'_ once more. He had thought that by giving up his magic to Yue, he would be incapable of seeing ghosts and supernatural beings again. It must have been after Sakura had finished transforming the Cards and the Chinese Gaki had left that Touya's own powers had started coming back. It _would_ make sense, he supposed, now that the Moon Guardian was living off of his Mistress's energy and not of a different source. Touya stopped musing and focused his attention back to the problem at hand.

"_Oishii, oishii,"_ The Thing said, licking its lips as it turned and advanced towards him. _"You smell very tasty."_

Dammit, so this was a _bakemono_ – a monster. He _knew_ that he should've taken Yuki's offer to let him stay behind and help him with some of his class duties. Helping out a new visiting transfer student (whatever the hell _that_ was supposed to mean) in the middle of the year had been a duty he wasn't too fond of being stranded with. The last time there had been an exchange or new student of any sort, he had been stuck with an overenthusiastic, annoying, loud-mouthed, troublesome, meddling girl.

Well, you couldn't really call Akizuki Nakuru a girl, per say. At least, not in the human sense… After all, she was anything _but_ human. And all of Clow's Guardians were created as androgynous beings.

"Che," he replied, swiping a hand across his mouth to wipe away some of the dirt. "I don't plan on being eaten by the likes of you."

"_Ohohoho. Such determination,"_ it said with what Touya thought sounded like a smile in its voice. He couldn't really tell, though; it was impossible to actually see underneath the creature's hideous white mask. But the evil vibes were practically rolling off the thing in giant waves, unlike the quiet power that radiated off of Sakura and her Cards. _"Such delicious power! I will enjoy eating someone like you! Almost smells like a Death God!"_

The bat-like creature folded its wings and made a dive for the high school student. Touya buried his head into his arms and prayed to the gods that someone would come looking for him. He grimaced when he heard a high whistling sound and braced for the painful impact that would result from sharp claws coming at him at such high velocities.

It never came.

"What are you doing just standing there?" a voice demanded, merely feet away from where Touya was standing. He looked up from where he was crouching and was surprised to see a person dressed in a black traditional robe with a huge sword to the monster's teeth. What shocked him more was that the aforementioned figure was the very person he was asked to show around Tomoeda not twenty minutes ago. "Nigete!"

'_What the hell? The transfer student could see it too?'_

While Touya was stuck to the ground as if under a paralysis spell, the monster kept on attacking its intended target repeatedly.

"Dammit! Just run away!" the transfer student's voice broke in as the bat-thing clashed against the razor sharp sword.

"I've been through worse things than this," Touya said, quickly standing up on his unsteady feet. He took a deep breath and started muttering an incantation under his breath, making the proper hand seal sequences since he didn't have an ofunda or magical object to simplify the process. "I can handle one ugly monster."

The other student grit his teeth as he fended off more attacks from above. "You don't understand! That's a Hollow! A normal human being like you can't _possibly_ handle something like _that!_"

'_Normal human being, eh?'_

"We'll just see about that!" And Touya took off sprinting with his hands glowing a faint hue of red, leaving the orange-haired kid staring at him.

"Baka!" the transfer student yelled towards his back. "You can't kill it unless you have a Zanpaktou! Even then, there's no guarantee that the Hollow won't end up breaking your sword!"

"I don't need a useless sword when I have this!" Touya extended his arms towards the heavens and aimed for the monster. "_Fire!_"

A huge fireball appeared from his fingertips and shot out towards the flying bat-thing. The monster dodged the attack and looked back at the two boys with a smirk on his face.

"_Ha. You missed!"_

Touya's eyes narrowed as he commanded the fire to turn around and hit it in the back. The monster's grin was short-lived when the ball of flame obeyed its master's orders and charbroiled part of the Hollow's left wing. Damn good thing that Yukito and Yue had agreed to train him in magic, lest he should be the target of a sorcerer's evil plans on taking the Cards away from the Card Mistress and using him in the process. Again.

Touya turned to smirk at his supposed rescuer with the intention of showing off, stating that he didn't need any help. Except that the Hollow took this moment of inattentiveness to slam into the teenager with such force that the wind was knocked out of his lungs. Unable to breathe, let alone move from his position, the black-haired sorcerer struggled as he was pinned to the ground, sharp nails digging into his skin as the monster perched on his backside.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Touya could just barely make out the other boy yelling something at him.

_"Awaken, Zangetsu!"_

And _what_ the _hell _was _that_?

And before he knew it, the creature was off his back, on the ground, and apparently dead. Touya grimaced as jolts of pain shot up his body as he was forced up and supported by strong arms.

"You okay?"

Touya nodded, not trusting himself to speak at the moment. He tried to unclench his jaw to no avail.

"Good," the oranged-haired teenager breathed a sigh in relief. "I thought you'd gotten seriously injured."

Touya took the moment to take a good look at the person who was holding him up. Yes, he looked exactly like the transfer student from earlier this morning. Well, with the exception of his clothes and that gargantuan sword hanging on his back.

"You," he breathed heavily, still leaning on the other boy, "you got a reason why you're wearing that ridiculous getup this time of the year? There aren't any holidays anytime soon."

The other student looked down at his clothes as if noticing them for the first time. Black robes like that in this day and age were very uncommon, even between some of the people in the older generation. He looked panicked for a moment as if trying to come up with an excuse.

"Well, you se-"

Something caught both of their attentions before the transfer student could complete whatever he was about to say. The two abruptly stopped moving and focused back towards the still body of the Hollow. Touya took a tentative step forwards to examine it closer. He immediately backpedaled away when he sensed something else stirring within.

"It's not dead yet!"

The transfer student looked genuinely confused. "Wha? How can you tell?"

"Move it, Kurosaki!"

Touya jumped to save his classmate from the monster's attack and in doing so felt the clothes on his back rip as claws tore through his skin. Falling for the second time in a few minutes, he felt an odd sense of dejá vu as a familiar weight settled on his body and proceeded to crush him to the ground.

"Kinomoto!"

And just before Ichigo could get up to destroy the Hollow with his Soul Slayer, the monster screamed in agony as dozens of crystal-like projectiles pierced through its flesh. It disappeared in a shower of particles and Touya felt the weight suddenly lift.

"Son of Clow Reed," a cold voice said. "Your sister has been worried about you."

Both high school students turned towards the new voice. Touya saw something that he honestly hadn't expected to see anytime soon. There, floating some few feet above the ground stood Yue wearing a grim expression with his arms crossed in front of his chest as if Touya had just been caught stealing cookies from the jar and needed to be scolded.

"It's… an angel…" Touya heard from his left. Glancing in that direction, he saw his companion staring at the Guardian disbelievingly, almost as if he didn't believe otherworldly beings existed.

Touya dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "He's just my sister's Guardian. Not that you would believe that…" Kurosaki immediately snapped out of his thoughts with a half smirk.

"Psh. I've been to what mortals call 'heaven' and back." He took another look at Yue with a thoughtful expression, as if reminiscing about something or another. "I think I can believe that this guy's not entirely human."

Touya huffed. "And what about you?" he asked, referring back to the conversation before they had been interrupted. "What's up with the clothes?" The transfer student started looking nervous again.

"Well, I've never actually met someone who could see me like this…"

Touya raised an eyebrow. "Like 'this'?…"

"As a Shinigami," he clarified. "At least, except for other Shinigami and people with immensely high levels of spiritual powers."

"And that means…?"

A deliberate cough interrupted them this time.

"I see that you are safe," Yue said, a little put-off by the fact that he was being ignored. "Very well, Son of Clow Reed. I shall sleep until I am needed again."

"Wait, Yue!" Touya called out before a bright flash of light overcame his senses.

"To-ya?" a startled voice said. "Where am I?" Touya opened his eyes to see that the Moon Guardian was no longer in sight.

"Yukito," he greeted. "Do you remember anything?"

"Huh? Well, I was going to meet you after archery practice but then there was something at the back of my mind that was bugging me. The next thing I knew was that there was this monster in the sky and you were on the ground bleeding and… Oh. Yue."

Kurosaki kept on looking at this new figure called Yukito much like he had with Yue – with curiosity. No matter how many times he tried to shake it out of his head, he couldn't help but feel that this person resembled a certain dark-haired archer from his old school while his counterpart reminded him of a certain cold-hearted bastard back at Soul Society… But that just couldn't be right! Yukito didn't act anything like Ishida… But Yue's resemblance to Kuchiki Byakuya was uncanny and disturbingly eerie.

"Anyway," Kurosaki cut in, "at least this means that you'll be more than capable of handling any other Hollow that comes your way. They have a tendency of attacking people who have high spiritual powers, like yourself." He started wrapping the rest of Zangetsu with the bandages that had come undone. "I suggest that you watch out for your family as well, just in case."

Touya stood up and brushed his pants. Yukito helped him regain his balance when he almost toppled over from fatigue and thrown-off senses.

"_Jaa_," the transfer student said as he saluted farewell. "I'll be seeing you around, Kinomoto."

"Same here, Kurosaki," Touya nodded as the Shinigami walked in the opposite direction of where he was headed. The orange-haired teenager disappeared from sight with a flurry of flash steps and billowing robes.

Touya looked down at his own tattered and bloodied clothes and sighed. He was surprisingly unfazed by something so ridiculous as getting attacked by a monstrous bat that looked like it came out of one of those corny old horror films.

"To-ya," Yukito nudged. "What are you going to tell your family about your current state?"

The normally stony-faced teenager sighed yet again and shook his head.

It was turning out to be one of those days…

_Fin._

* * *

Author's Notes:

Crossed over with Cardcaptor Sakura

Hoped you liked it. This is a result of lack of inspiration while trying to write the next chapter of IWoTA and failing miserably in getting anything done in that direction. There might be a follow-up which will focus more on Sakura's POV, but it's still being deliberated on. No guarantees here. Plus, this being a one-shot-ish material, it won't have any semblance of plot whatsoever.

Review, please?

_Yatsuka Hikagi_

_December 22, 2005__  
_


	2. A Stray Black Cat

Notice: If the title doesn't give it away, then I don't know what else would.

Summary: On a whim, she decided to pretend she was a stray black cat for the day. She exactly didn't know what compelled her to roam away from her duties in Soul Society (again) or why she decided to follow them, but she filed all thoughts away and decided to enjoy the festivities on Earth.

Warning: Slight AU - some characters have powers/abilities that are not mentioned in canon. Takes place after… well, I'm not sure. Spoiler-ish if you haven't watched/read all of Black Cat and/or don't know of Yoruichi's true identity.

* * *

_Just by chance. On a whim. By a stroke of luck._

_A strange, unforeseen encounter may bring two worlds together like no one else might have ever suspected._

**Encounters **

"A Stray Black Cat"

By Hikagi

* * *

It had been, she decided, far too long since the last time she had had the pleasure of simply relaxing on an abandoned rooftop without anything around to bother her. There weren't too many places she could go where it was relatively quiet and peaceful. Some of the buildings housed occupants that blasted music through the walls, hurting her sensitive ears. Others had shingles that broke off with the slightest touch.

_'But this roof,'_ she thought as she leaned forward to stretch out all the kinks in her muscles, _'was perfect.'_

And indeed it was. Not too many structures were around to hinder her view of the bright, beautiful moon. Everyone downstairs was sleeping or out for the night. The building was located in the less occupied part of town so there weren't people milling about in the streets.

Her whiskers twitched as a pleasant wind ruffled her fur like it did when she was running through the streets. Sometimes it felt good to get away from it all.

She stretched some more, sighed and plopped down, her head resting on her arms and her tail curled comfortably next to her.

With everything that had been going on, everyone had been busy jostling to and fro. Earth was chaotic – thousands of people were dying by the minute, and there weren't enough staff members to get all of the work and soul burials done. It was speculated that the majority of the deaths were related to the rumor that Earth was being controlled by unknown powers shrouded in the darkness. And yet...

Wait a second…

Shihouin Yoruichi's ears perked up while she lifted her head up to sniff the air, a delicious odor wafting into her nose.

Was that milk?

Forget world domination, poverty, corruption and death – her stomach had grumbled. The cat sweatdropped, embarrassed that she had forgotten a simple thing such as food. It had been many, many months since she had been in cat form.

Well, she supposed, it couldn't hurt too much to see what this was about, now could it?

She flicked her tail and hopped away, tracking down the source of the smell, springing from building to building with perhaps more skill or reach than a normal cat should. But no one was around to see her so Yoruichi didn't let that concern her for the time being. She stopped when she came upon a human being perched on top of another rooftop, an arm casually draped over bent legs. In his hand was the object of her desire.

She was about to venture closer, but a soft growl interrupted her before she could take another step. A white cat crawled out from underneath a shadow, baring her path. The sound alerted the human to her presence and he tensed, his free hand twitching and ready to grab an object in his left pocket.

Yoruichi wasn't stupid. She knew how to recognize something dangerous when she saw it, and the man in front of her was potentially lethal. Well, as dangerous as he could get when faced against an innocent stray cat.

She scoffed. Her, an innocent stray cat. _Right._ That was like saying that Kisuke was a gentleman. Or that Hitsugaya-taichou wasn't short. Or Yamamoto-soutaichou wasn't old. Or that pigs could fly.

Yoruichi ignored the white cat who, after a warning growl, did nothing to stop her from advancing towards the human save for staring suspiciously in her direction. The man relaxed after seeing that he had gone into alert mode for an animal, and settled back down. Yoruichi carefully walked up and nudged his feet with her paws.

"You hungry?" he asked, looking down.

She mewed in response. The man sighed and bent down, opening another bottle of milk and pouring it out onto a saucer. She considered herself lucky.

"Man, that's the second one today," he muttered to himself. "It's just my luck that another stray cat wants some of my milk." He paused, giving Yoruichi a look-over. "Though, you look too clean to be a stray."

He reached over and started scratching her ears after she licked the bowl clean. Yoruichi purred as his fingers found the perfect spot, leaning in to his hand. Apparently, the white cat was feeling jealous because she walked over and demanded to be petted as well.

"Hey, hold it! I can pet you both at the same time, so stop fussing!"

But after a few minutes, the hands stopped. Yoruichi was disappointed and showed it by butting her head against his fingers. When he merely laughed and made no motion to continue, she started wrapping herself around his legs. The white cat followed suit, claiming the man's other leg. Eventually, both cats stopped when he leaned backwards and made no effort to move.

"Isn't the moon beautiful, Saya?" he whispered, more to himself than to anyone else.

As if response, the wind picked up and ruffled their hairs as a sweet, almost otherworldly melody drifted past their ears.

_"Fuwa fuwa fururin, omoi nosete…" _

Yoruichi wasn't sure if it was the wind or the man's humming that filtered in, but she was sure that there was something wrong in the environment. Something was subtly grating against her nerves, like a bad feeling she couldn't shake off.

"Saya..."

He was looking up at the moon again, apparently lost in thought.

"You'd think that after a few years, I'd get over it."

Yoruichi's suspicions deepened when she saw that the white cat was staring unnervingly at the man, yellow eyes never straying from his form.

"You two play nice, okay? I'm going to see if Eve's remembered to stock up on milk."

She waited until the human shut the door before she approached the other cat.

"Ex-shinigami Minatsuki Saya," Yoruichi said, cautiously. "It's been a while since anyone has heard any news about you."

The white cat bristled, fur standing on edge. "Who are you?" she replied, eyes narrowing.

Yoruichi stopped and calmly sat down, watching the other cat with scrutiny. "My name is Shihouin Yoruichi."

Saya (or who she _assumed _to be Saya) froze. "Y-yoruichi? Formally from the special opts. division?"

"Yes."

"What are you doing here? The last I've heard, you've been reinstated in Soul Society as a special shinigami."

Yoruichi shrugged. "Saa… Just taking a break from work. The moon is beautiful on Earth." She said this as if it explained everything.

"Oh, I see."

She had a feeling that Saya still wasn't comfortable around her. "Why don't we abandon these forms? I want to see what you look like as a human. And people won't see us that way either."

Yoruichi didn't wait for a response before she was surrounded by a cloud of smoke, her cat form already shed. When she opened her eyes, the white cat had been replaced by a young girl with short, dark hair.

"Something wrong?" she asked when Saya just stared at her, gaping.

"I had the impression that you were a..."

"Guy?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry too much about it," Yoruichi said, waving a hand in the air. "I get that all the time."

* * *

They were currently peeking in through a window, silently watching the man raid his fridge all the while clinging to the brick walls, many, _many_ meters above the ground.

"So..." Yoruichi started, indicating with a flick of her head. "Is he the one?"

"What?"

She threw a wild guess, having only one such experience in the past. "The man you abandoned your duties for."

Saya didn't respond, which was more than enough for an answer.

Yoruichi waited for a while, turning her attention back to the dark-haired human. "Who is he?"

"He... He's Train Heartnet. Former member of the Chrono Numbers. Codename XIII. Also went by Black Cat."

Yoruichi twitched at that.

"He quit being an assassin after I died and became a sweeper instead. He recently saved a lot of lives for my sake. I mean, I became a shinigami because it was like being a sweeper again. And then I was assigned to a job on Earth and I jumped at the opportunity because it was close to where Train was supposed to be. And then I found Train again, and I, I..."

"Didn't feel like coming back," the ex-captain supplied.

Saya nodded. "Something like that."

Yoruichi sighed as they started climbing up back to the roof. "I know what that's like. I did something similar myself, centuries ago."

"I know," she said as they took one last leap and reached the top. "I've heard stories about the legendary Shihouin Yoruichi and how she supposedly left Soul Society, so I decided to see if I could do the same. I ran into Urahara-san and he took interest in my case and helped me slip past the barriers."

"So Kisuke helped you out? That's why Soul Society hasn't a clue as to what happened to you?"

"I presume so. Urahara-san said that he helped a few people this way."

"Is that so," Yoruichi said, mulling the idea over in her head. "But are you content?"

Saya opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. She eventually settled on saying, "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

Yoruichi grabbed the former sweeper's arm, forcing them to keep eye contact with each other. "The question is, Saya, will you be happy like this?" Saya's eyes widened and she made an effort to struggle, but Yoruichi wasn't going to let her go so easily. "Will you be happy just watching from the sidelines, knowing that he thinks you are dead and lost to him?"

"Oi," the man's voice called out, muffled by the door that opened to the rooftop. "Kuroneko-chan, Shironeko-chan, are you two still up there?"

Saya turned away as Yoruichi's grip loosened when the doorknob turned and the hinges creaked.

"This is more than what I had ever hoped by coming here. I couldn't be happier."

She gave the older woman a meaningful hug before she turned back into a white cat and scampering off to greet Train.

"Don't worry," Yoruichi said when the cat turned one last time to see her. "I won't tell anyone. Not a soul."

She remained in her place for a few more minutes, watching the two of them as a smile crept upon her face.

_'You are a lucky one, Saya. It seems that Train is still in love with you.' _

Then she turned around and leapt off the building, disappearing into the shadows.

_Fin._

* * *

Author's Notes:

Crossed over with Black Cat

Mixed a bit of the manga and anime of Black Cat together, but there's more anime than manga at this point. And no, Saya did not have the ability to turn into a white cat in canon. I just totally made that up. She also (obviously) is not a shinigami in the original story either.

At first, I had something totally different in mind, but this is the direction my fingers has taken me. Originally, Saya was just supposed to be a spirit following Train around (as hinted in the manga). Then I watched the anime, and noticed how Saya was never shot in the same scene as the white cat. And _then_ I thought that it'd be cool (i.e. I was tired and my brain was being stupid) if Saya stuck around after the end of the anime and comforted Train as a 'pet' of sorts. XD

You'd think that my writing would improve over time, but I feel as if that's not the case. Every piece I do, I go back and reread it, thinking, "Ack! Needs more work!" I'm not completely satisfied with the turn of events. Even the Bleach/CCS shot wasn't something I was happy with. I need to make my stories less boring. There are so many things I need to work on.

Maybe I should start writing crossovers that are more plausible and not completely random. Like the xxxHOLiC ones that are just sitting in my computer. Those have a nice cross-dimensional aspect to them and would probably work a lot better than all of my Bleach ones.

_Yatsuka Hikagi _

_November 08, 2006_


	3. Gods of Death

Teaser: It was, he thought, by a stroke of luck that he was already a god of death. Otherwise, he might have been dead by now… _Again_.

Notice: Just decided to update this ficcie here, since it was sitting at the bottom of my profile list when sorted by the updated…_date_. Gah. I dislike using similar sounding words in the same sentence. Also, story title has been changed.

Spoilers: Very mild ones for the bits and pieces of the (first – at least for the anime) Soul Society arc. Hmm, none for the other series; most of the speculations at this point are just that – speculations if these two worlds/universes/fandoms exsisted together. XD

Warnings: Well, since this is a crossover, _there are some blatant AU elements_. We're talking major shiftage of timelines and canon events, and twistages of all sorts of things (yes, yes – I know that some of those words aren't technically words). 'Mmkay? I'll be ignoring a few major things in favor of trying to make this all work out – gotta appease my plot bunnies somehow. And the reviewers that complain about the twistages (haha I like that 'word') obviously didn't head my warnings.

* * *

_Just by chance. On a whim. By a stroke of luck._

_A strange, unforeseen encounter may bring two worlds together like no one else might have ever suspected._

**Encounters**

"Gods of Death"

By Hikagi

* * *

"If you would," Urahara gestured, motioning to the cushions in one of rooms located in the back of his store, "you are more than welcome to have a seat. I'll be right back in a moment."

Ichigo blinked, wondering why he was here (on a Sunday morning, of all times!) and cursed his luck. Settling down with a sigh, he plopped onto a cushion and stared at one of the corners in the room.

At first, it had been because he wasn't sure about what was happening to him. But he wasn't so petty as to come to the former shinigami due to a few insecurities on his part. So when the shop owner had called him over to discuss his new duties as a Shinigami Representative, Ichigo was inwardly relieved – even if that meant waking up early on a day he was supposed to have off from school.

Lately there had been this persistent, nagging feeling in the back head that just wouldn't go away no matter what he did to occupy himself. And left in a room to his own devices, his unease grew, filling the empty space around him with a heavy silence. When he closed his eyes, he could almost give it a face – an image to go along with the constant whispers that haunted him day in and day out.

A pale visage – a mocking, half-taunting smirk permanently sewn under a sharp, familiar nose. Bright, piercing eyes that burned through his soul every time he caught a glimpse of them. A voice that chilled his bones and made his skin crawl every time he had the misfortune of hearing it.

A long, fluttering cape, white as the snow that fell in the winter…

A weapon he was all too familiar with, hanging across the figure's right shoulder…

Hands reaching out to nab him, fingers that were unwilling to let go. They were connected to long, pale arms that led to broad, strong shoulders. Then the neck, and finally a head. And a face that he couldn't even begin to describe because there were no words that came to his mind.

A face that was unnatural and eerie – one that he couldn't shake from memory…

A face that he saw every day before he left for school…

A face he saw when he looked in the mirror…

A sudden, sharp intake of air as his panic grew tenfold and his heart rate rose to match it. All at once, the room seemed much too small and oppressive as if it were trying to suffocate his spirit with its unyielding walls. They were getting closer and closer, intent on crushing him beneath wood and plaster, crawling towards him at a pace that made his eyes twitch nervously.

He had never been claustrophobic before. But the bubbling hysteria was not one that could be so easily ignored, no matter how hard he tried to curb his anxiety.

Self-control. He needed to maintain self-control. At least until someone else entered the room and distracted his thoughts from running in frantic circles and nearly causing him to panic.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Ichigo shuddered as the door finally slid open and Urahara stepped in, grateful for the interruption.

* * *

Conversation had been tense for the first few minutes. There had been the obligatory observations about the weather (mostly one-sided because Ichigo didn't feel like forcing himself to talk when he was obviously not interested in the topic), the sales and prices of foods at the market (yet another topic he didn't really care for), and finally(!) the bits of news that Soul Society had sent along every once in a while.

Reconstruction seemed to be doing well, for the most part. Buildings were being replaced at a fairly steady pace, and all the injured people were being tended to.

…No one had any idea how to fix the disaster that had once been Central 46 Chambers, however.

But for the mean time, things were starting to settle down, the reconstruction taking everyone's minds off of other matters. The work was helpful in a way that it gave all the shinigami something to do to help them carry on with life (or was that afterlife? Ichigo wasn't sure what to call it at this point) instead of brooding about all day.

"Ichigo-san," Urahara said, interrupting the short lull in the conversation after the news had been shared. "The reason I've called you here has something to do with our last _adventure_."

The emphasis in the store keeper's voice made the high school student sit up that much straighter in his seat.

"While you've been away, the human world has encountered a problem as well. Rumors between the shinigami have been running around that our _dear_ Aizen might be the cause of this."

Ichigo forced himself to take a deep breath and calm his temper. Just the mention of _that bastard's_ name made his fists automatically clench with an emotion that was bordering along the lines of something like hate.

Urahara probably noticed the sharp spike in reiatsu that resulted in mentioning Aizen, because he started speaking again in an attempt to catch Ichigo's attention. (1)

"There's been a recent string of deaths that have caught the public's attention. No one from our side is sure what's causing it, be everyone knows that it's not natural."

"Not natural?"

The former captain's face darkened and his eyes glinted strangely. "Heart attacks. Every single one of them."

Ichigo gulped. That man was getting that strange look on his face – the kind that spoke of promised pain and retribution. Ichigo had been the recipient of that look when he had undergone "training" (it was more like a sadistic torture) when he had been trying to unlock his shinigami powers before heading off to Soul Society.

"The police have gotten involved, but they don't seem to have come to any conclusion. The only thing that they've agreed upon is that this is the work of a mass killer."

Urahara reached into his pockets and pulled out something thin and black that Ichigo immediately recognized as a notebook.

"However, I've come across a lead that I want you to investigate. Some of my associates back at Soul Society found something interesting."

Ichigo saw the store owner flip through the pages and skim through its contents briefly as if reminiscing about something. He then handed the journal over to the high school student, making sure that the transaction was as deliberate as he could make it.

"This is a Notebook of Death. Shinigami Research Institute has come across a few of these during the past hundred years or so, but no one knew what it was for, or what powers they held. Experiments performed in Seireitei were unsuccessful, so a few shinigami sought to test it out in the human world."

Ichigo shuddered as an eerie shiver ran down his spine.

"That's where things went wrong."

* * *

Raito took a subtle look around the bus stop as he hitched his hood so that it covered more of his face. Lately, he got this weird, unsettling feeling like he was being watched.

It was, in some ways, worse than when someone had installed cameras in his home, because he had no way of knowing who was watching him, and from which direction. Ryuuku wasn't saying anything either, so it didn't help any.

Ignoring the nagging, persistent voice in the back of his head, Raito settled down in his seat, glancing at his watch every so often. Nine more minutes until the bus arrived. That is, if the rain didn't delay the scheduled stops too far behind.

Luckily, the weather drove away most of the people inside or away, so Raito was alone for the time being. Well, if you didn't count the god of death that hovered behind him.

"Say, Raito…" Ryuuku began, twisting his head around in a way that seemed nearly physically impossible. "What are you planning on doing? Why are you out here in the rain?"

"Nothing much," he replied. "I just felt the need to get away from home for a while. Maybe take a walk in a park or something."

"Hmm. In this weather?"

Raito gave a shrug.

"Well," the shinigami flipped upside down as he tapped his chin. He gave a sudden, alarming smile. "This might turn out interesting."

Raito didn't have the time to ask what the strange being was talking about, because another person came into view and made his way toward them. Raito stiffened, although he knew that the stranger couldn't possibly see Ryuuku.

The newcomer sat down at the opposite end of the bench and slouched against the wooden back. Raito observed him from the corner of his eyes.

Male. Young too, by the looks of it – perhaps, a few years older than he? Wearing a pair of jeans and a thin jacket. No backpack, no umbrella, no extra articles or accessories on his person. The jacket had a hood that pretty much covered up his face.

All in all, it was as if another version of Raito had come out of nowhere.

Suddenly, the stranger spoke.

"Heh. This is interesting."

Raito internally frowned and debated whether or not to pretend to ignore him. After a few seconds, he asked, "What is?"

The stranger turned to look at him, and Raito noticed that his initial calculations were incorrect.

The guy wasn't a few years older – there was a chance that he might be _younger_. Raito saw that he had misjudged the unknown person's age by guessing from his height and body structure.

"Why is it," the boy drawled, "that a being like _you_ chooses to follow a human like _him_?"

It was with a start of alarm that Raito realized that the stranger wasn't at all looking at him, but at the figure floating behind his shoulder… At Ryuuku, who could only be seen by other death gods and humans who have touched his Death Note.

But that meant…

"Shinigami Representative, Kurosaki Ichigo, at your service."

_Fin…_

* * *

Author's Notes:

Crossed over with Death Note

1. Reiatsu: _spiritual energy_. Hahahaha. Funny thing happened. Now I know that I've been writing too long in the Naruto fandom because I almost typed in "chakra" (and even "ki") instead of "reiatsu". (laughs sheepishly)

Yeah, yeah – kinda throws all the Vaizard and Arrancar stuff out the window, but I got this idea before the Bount arc was concluded… If nothing else, I could just pass this off as an excuse not to work on my analytical essay (coughthatsalreadythreedayslatebutididntfeellikeworkingonitcough). I think what made this so fun to work with was that the fundamental role of the shinigami were so different in both worlds. I had this whole explanation typed up, but none of it fit when I tried to go about placing it in the shot. (frowns) But since this is a one-shot, I felt that that was as good as any place to stop. Just wanted them to meet, but didn't want to write a big, drawn-out confrontation.

Sorry for not updating this sooner! Hopefully, it won't take as long next time before my plot bunnies decide to gang up on me again. XD

Hmm… Anyone care to find out the significance between all the chapter titles, chapter teasers, and the general summary for this story? XDD If not, I'll explain it at the next update.

And please review! They make for wonderful sources of inspiration and whatnot! (hint: I write more and update faster if you do)

…Aaaaaand I just noticed that this chapter teaser doesn't really have anything to do with the rest of the shot… Argh!

_Yatsuka Hikagi_

_April 03, 2007  
_


	4. A Sticky Situation

Um warning: I haven't written anything in a really _long_ time, so I'm sorry for any mistakes. Also, it's been a while since I've watched/read Bleach, so the terms might be a bit off too. NottomentionthatthecharactersmightbehorriblyOOC. Er, same goes for the other series. It's been a _while_. So, if anything's wrong, let's just say that I'm taking artistic liberties.

Teaser: It was just by chance that he had managed to land himself in a…(what was it that humans called it? Oh yes,)…a sticky situation. No problem, he'd just fight his way out of this one, right?

Spoilers: Not much for Bleach. But kinda for the other series. If you don't know what Horcruxes are, then I suggest you leave.

* * *

_Just by chance. On a whim. By a stroke of luck._

_A strange, unforeseen encounter may bring two worlds together like no one else might have ever suspected._

**Encounters**

"A Sticky(?) Situation"

By Hikagi

* * *

Renji was a little surprised when he was summoned from his duties via hellbutterfly and ordered to go to Ningenkai. He was more surprised that it wasn't in Japan like he had originally suspected, but somewhere on the other side of the world. The shinigami paused as he walked out of the 6th division's office, the hellbutterfly fluttering gently in front of him, almost as if it were waiting for the vice-captain to make his move.

Igirisu. Where the _hell_ was Igirisu in relation to Nihon?

Not that it really mattered because the portal gates from Soul Society were able to deposit shinigami to the relative location of their destination. He had yet to travel on Earth via modern technological means (and no, roof-hopping didn't really count).

Despite being fukutaichou to the Sixth Division, he hadn't had the chance to visit all of the countries in the world as of yet. Most of his cases had been far away from the major cities, and the ones that weren't involved so many Hollows that he hadn't had the time to stop and enjoy the scenery. And being fukutaichou, there were less and less chances for him to roam about Earth, Rukia's adventures notwithstanding.

But back to the topic at hand... Renji had never been to Igirisu before. Oh sure, he had heard of it at one point or another, but only through passing and in mission reports. The most he remembered was that they drove on the correct side of the road (unlike some of the American idiots -- why couldn't they be more civilized like Japan?), the country was small, the weather was usually cold, and there was some bad-ass wannabe overlord who fancied on gaining Hollow powers by selling out his soul.

_Yeah. We have an Aizen-poser on Earth. Great. Anyone else sense the need to do something drastic before things get out of hand?_

Renji just shook his head and followed the hellbutterfly down the hallway to reach the teleportation gates.

Wait a minute. He needed to upgrade his language-translator-thing before he touched down on the Real World to include whatever he needed during the mission. Just in case. Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long to kick in, like what some of the older versions did.

* * *

There was something wrong here. It wasn't blatantly obvious, otherwise he wouldn't have been standing like an idiot in the middle of the street.

"Puribetto Duraibo."

Right. Like he could read the symbols of chicken-scratch that the natives used here. It was easy enough to read katakana, but he had no idea what it was _supposed _to look like in the native language.

Puri...betto...

Du...raibo...

P-something Dry?

No, that wasn't it...

Privy Durite...?

Yeah, something like that. At least that much he knew.

And dammit, why couldn't the translator translate faster? Being dead was _supposed_ to have made reading different languages simpler, not more difficult! And he had just upgraded his communicator before he left, too!

Renji decided to send a memo to one of the other captains (or at least the ones that were responsible for maintaining communications between the two realms) that the language filter wasn't doing its job. Either that, or the newest version or update Seireitei provided for their shinigami wasn't really the newest one, or it was just as crappy as the old version, or it had more flaws than what the development teams had foreseen, or he was just really pissed off because everything was deciding to be difficult today.

And his cell was starting to act strangely too - the indicators were going off when they shouldn't have been doing so. Something was seriously messing up with all of his functions.

With a sigh, the vice-captain resigned himself to wandering about aimlessly. The gates had opened up in the middle of this street, so the problem had to be somewhere close by.

* * *

He had somehow managed to find himself in a park. It was a fairly nice park - plenty of trees and benches, kinda small, well kept, and very little trace of residue reiatsu.

Good. That meant that there weren't too many people with high spiritual powers in the area. All the more reason why there was very little chance that Hollows would appear, or if they did so, there wouldn't be any innocents caught in the middle.

There was a rustle of leaves that was followed by a curt, "Who are you?"

'_Well,'_ Renji mused correcting his earlier statement,_ 'no innocents caught in the middle, probably except for __that__ one.'_

It was more of a demand than a question, he realized. And it had come from a scrawny boy, hiding in the bushes behind a nearby playground. The boy looked to be around Ichigo's age, but he couldn't quite tell due to the terrain. But the kid had a sharp edge in his voice that seemed far too old and reminded him of certain shinigami back at Soul Society.

Nevertheless, Renji was the 6th division's vice-captain. And as such, he was used to dealing with bossy people (namely all the other captains and the bad-ass punks from his own and other divisions).

Apparently the Human wasn't too happy with Renji's lack of answer. "I'm only going to ask this once more: Who are you?"

"Why should I bother telling you?" Renji scoffed. "Kids should mind their own business."

"You haven't answered my question."

"And you're hiding like a coward."

The kid stepped out of the bushes cautiously, holding a curious object in his right hand.

Renji was just a little startled to see someone who fit the bill of a Quincy. He narrowed his eyes. "What's your name?"

"As if I'm going to tell you."

"Listen, I don't have the _time_ to deal with a wise-ass."

There was a tense pause where they stared at each other, neither completely willing to back down from the unspoken challenge.

"Did Voldemort send you?"

"Volde-what?"

"Because I know at least eight different ways to curse you in to next week."

Well, at least Renji had to give the kid points for bravery. Or foolhardiness. Whichever.

"I'd like to see you try. A hundred ryo says that you can't. And can't you see that I'm busy?"

But there was a Hollow nearby, and Soul Society had said that a rampant spirit was on the loose. He was going to have to deal with both _and_ make sure this human kid didn't do anything stupid in the meantime.

And as if to answer his questions, the ground shook.

The kid looked around in surprise, bewilderment clearly written on his face. "What was that?"

'_Meddling humans. Never know when to stay out of it.'_

* * *

Exasperation, desperation, irritation, vexation, frustration – a lot of "-ation" words.

'_Distraction,'_ Renji finally decided as the Hollow turned around and decided to munch on the human kid instead. The stupid brat was going to get himself killed!

"Hey you! Get out of the way!"

"Stop yelling at me!" The boy dodged a pile of falling rocks. "You think I don't know that?"

"_You_ tell _me_! You're just standing there."

"What else am I supposed to do when a monster just pops up out of nowhere?"

"I don't know!" Renji yelled back sarcastically, refraining from pulling his hair out. "Run?"

"Like hell I would! Besides, what can _you_ do about it?"

"More than any of your pathetic attempts might!"

"As if! You probably don't even have a wand!"

Renji almost stumbled.

…What did a wand have to do with any of this?

* * *

After the Hollow (stupid sonuvabitch had been more persistent than a mosquito) had been defeated, he allowed himself a bit of a breather and slouched against a nearby tree. The human kid wasn't too far away, leaning against a piece of vegetation that might have once been a bush.

"Hey, kid. What's your name?"

"What does it matter to you?"

But eventually, they exchanged names. Their little run-in with the Hollow had apparently lowered some of the reservations they held against each other. Lowered, but not completely absolved.

"Just what _are_ you?"

"Hold on just a minute."

Renji ignored the question and opted for calling Soul Society to bitch at them.

"This is Abarai Renji speaking. Yes, that situation has been dealt with. No, I'm trying to locate it as we speak. Oh, and I have a witness. What should I do with him?"

Renji glanced at the boy.

"He says his name is Harry Potter. Yes, _that_ one. No, I just ran into him on the street. Shut up - you think I did it on purpose? You think I _want_ to have another human kid attach himself to me? Ichigo's already done that and look where it got me!"

There was a response, where Renji had to bite his tongue.

"I don't _know_ if a memory capsule would work on him. He seems to have too much spiritual power. Huh? I don't know if I want to do that. Yeah. Yes, I know. Right. Sure."

He hung up.

"Okay. Question," the shinigami said after pocketing his cell phone. "Do you happen to know a person or persons by the name of Riddle?"

Harry stiffened and eyed him warily. "Yeah. He tried to kill me a few times."

Renji whistled. Talk about tough luck.

"Well, I've just got a report that said that Riddle's soul was found, but it seemed like it was incomplete. Was just wondering if you knew anything about that."

"He...split his soul into parts. I'm not sure where they all are."

"Right..."

* * *

A few days later, he managed to locate it.

It gave him shivers to think that a man – no, a _monster_ – had been alive at one point on Earth. It was sad to note how a once-had-been human being could have been so corrupted and vile.

But by now, that _'thing'_ was just about on its way to becoming a Hollow.

Renji gave the deformed not-quite-spirit a slash with his zanpakutou, disgusted with its vulgar appearance.

As he sheathed his sword and created a portal to take back home, he wished the Potter boy a lot of luck.

Kami knew that the kid would need it.

_Fin._

* * *

Author's Notes:

Crossed over with Harry Potter

I realized after I wrote this that there's an inconsistency. While Bleach (at least, to my immediate knowledge) doesn't exactly give us the specific year it takes place, Harry Potter does. And there's a good chance that Harry is _years_ older than Ichigo.

And my brain is tired. I've been reading more than I've been writing these past few weeks, even though I have a ton of projects to complete. Maybe I should just stop altogether?

Blah. I give up.

_Yatsuka Hikagi_

_July 21, 2007  
_


	5. Unforeseen Disaster

Inspired by my brother who is working on a side-story/deviation to go with this

Teaser: Sometimes, our little whims end up causing more disaster than we might have foreseen. It is a shame, then, that memory erasers aren't as readily available as we'd like.

Notice: Inspired by my brother… Who is now on my list of Evil People because he caused the plunnies to get on my case again. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately for all you people who enjoy my updates), this is a supper short one.

Spoilers: Eh, not really much. There are tiny hints here and there, but nothing that new readers would have to really worry about. At least, I hope not.

* * *

_Just by chance. On a whim. By a stroke of luck._

_A strange, unforeseen encounter may bring two worlds together like no one else might have ever suspected._

**Encounters**

"Unforeseen Disaster…?"

By Hikagi

* * *

On a whim, she decided to end karate practice early. Regional auditions had come to a close just last week, so there wasn't a real reason for her to push herself to her limits. Besides, everyone else was tired, and her wrists were a bit sore from blocking too many kicks in the mock sparring rounds.

Tatsuki stepped out of the dojo, enjoying for a brief moment the wave of fresh air that whipped her short hair sideways. She was glad to leave early this time around, especially since she was supposed to relax anyway. Perhaps she could spend the rest of the afternoon with Orihime; they hadn't been spending enough time together outside of regular school hours.

Tatsuki was brought out of her current musings when she spotted a person with orange hair in the distance.

'_Strawberry-blond,_' she corrected herself. _'Strawberry-blond, not orange.'_ Ichigo hated it when people said his hair was orange, but Tatsuki couldn't see why he was so insecure about it. Orange hair was cool. And calling it strawberry-blond wasn't going to fool anyone.

Then again, she hadn't really hung out with Ichigo as of late either. For a few minutes, she was torn between visiting Orihime, or catching up to Ichigo – who was currently walking further and further away with each passing second.

"Hey, Ichigo!" she hollered, as she made up her mind. Tatsuki quickly sprinted over to her friend. "Long time no see!"

She gave him a pat on the back as a way of saying hello, only to nearly jump out of her socks when he was enveloped by a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, she was startled to find that Ichigo was no longer around…

Instead, in Ichigo's place was a…cat.

An orange cat that was currently glaring daggers at her.

Tatsuki blinked. "What the hell…?"

Near by, a pair of high-school students winced as their friend (the term was loosely applied, of course – because Yuki and Kyo would _never_ say they were _friends_) transformed right in front of a non-Sohma female.

"_Now_ what do we do?"

_Fin?_

* * *

Author's Notes:

Crossed over with Fruits Basket

Like I said, very short. And random, and non-conclusive, and a bunch of other things.

If you want to adopt and/or expand upon this plunny, let me know!

Omake:

Kyo stared at the cat next to him (and really, that was the confusing part, because he was sure as _hell_ that there was only supposed to be one Cat Zodiac alive at any given point, but he was very, _very_ sure that he had seen this woman transform), wondering how a simple training mission had turned all screwed up like this.

"What?" Yoruichi asked, licking a paw.

_Yatsuka Hikagi_

_June 12, 2008  
_


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